Automatic railway gate



July 3, 1928.

J. R. BU RRESS AUTOMATICIRAILWAY GATE 5 Shets-Sheet Filed July 1924INVENTOR.

- BY ATTORNEYS.

July 3, 1928. 1,676,227

J. R. BURRESS AUTOMATIC RAILWAY GATE Filed July 1924 5 Sheets-Shet 2zlwvwflo'a JohnR..Burress,

W WWW bk] Stratum July 3, 1928.

J. R. BURRESS AUTOMATIC RAILWAY GATE Filed July 9. 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 4T E w W m n A a v T 9w mm, W m A. m %m@ w H X J wh A Q w o m h o E; an

July 3; 1928.

- 1,676,227 J. R. BURRESS AUTOMATIC RAILWAY GATE Filed July 1.924

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 crohnlzhBurre ss,

. 1 ENTOR.

I BY (1" I ATTORNEY means ure 3.

Patented July 3, 1928..

ews 51 "was: AN!) w- JQHN Rn BI IREESS; orlAnnIiveroiu, QEXAS', AssIQRQB -Inrnnczr, an]: nnsiir. nssrem, navrsq am ss. pK' A QM :1

iAUiQMA fi {RAILWAY sees s'lhisinvention .relates to certain .neW anduseful improvements in (an .automatic I rail-- -Way .gate .andparticulalfly .to that type wherein ahighway crossingis automaticallyclosed to vehicular; and other tratficupon an approaching trainentering-the immediate block- U The-primary. objectis to provide arailway: crossinggatesivhich will be efficient, durable and safeinoperation and WlthEthlSiII view; the invention resides in .an improvedgate construction tending toward greater safetyat theegrade crossing;anv improved HIP/Club nism for operating-the gate,l,upon the entry of atrain into the immediate =block;:and an:

improved electrical block system :for efiecting automatic control of thea gate operatingmechanism. j -Tlie invention-further resides in thesalient featureslof construction and the-ar rangements and combinationsof parts here after described andclaimedy reference-being made to theaccompanying drawings. Where- 111:"- Figure 1 is a fragmentary-elevationde-f pictingthe relation of the parts hen-the gateisloperative; lFigure2 is .asimilar-view shovving the gate inoperativepw F'gure illustratestheQleverage system. slightly Jmoclified asLto the application ;'to"power, connecting the two gates on opposite sides of the track@ I Figure4 isza detailed "ofE-igure 1; I. V 3

,Figure 5 illustrates diagrammatically the electrical: control :andcirc-uit systememsection on line Figures 6, 7 and, 8. and of; the gateper. se; and p Figure 10 is aperspective view disclosing a. partialapplication .of the invention with the ,source .ofi operating .powerapplied in termediate the gates, as indicated-in1Fig- 9.,aredetailedviews Figurell is aifragrnentaryplan viewofg the gate.supportin'g post,' With bracing:

; Referring more in f detail to the drawings,

thelautomaticiortrain-controlled gate mecha-'- nismIismounted on abase-or foundation 1;- and comprisesan' electric motor 3, the shaft l-of.Which is connected byfa 'flexiblecoupling 5-,to. a reduction gearinginthehousingti which gearing innturn, is connected" to a a character. thata small motor may efficiently perform {the heavy jw'ork 'ot'svvingingthe gates. 1F rom the gearcaslngor housing 2 a driven'shaft 9"protrud'esandcarries a fixed camwheel 8 adaptedtoibe rotated very slowly. The camWheel. is.hereillustrated f aslhaving threelobes .orcam projections'eachhaving an arcuate .rise 8' :and .anfabi'upt dropv 8" roller. 12."Thelatterk'is; carriedononeend' of thle lever .11 which is.intermed'iately' piv-- oted at 1.0 andhas itsopposite or 'loweriendpivoted ,toma linkld, [as 15.; Byflni'eansj offspring 1.6..the linkisl-connected to a second dink 17,, 7 these three elements j c'onstitut-1 mg ,yieldable .or resilient, composite link for connecting lever 11 toone. arm :18 of the bell crank =22 as ;Jat.1.9. I The: arm 20: of saidbell} crank is: pivotally connected, to a; link ;7.0 I (see?F-igs. :3.and :10). .InlFigs: l and 2,-the, operating 7 in Figs. .3, and 1,0 the.power. is. applied a intermediate the gates, as toa'bell crank 71connected to the.;opposite end of the link 75 i s at21,-

"p riis deli ere 1i; of s p ylink 17,'While' 70.1;lnthe'latter-casethebell crank 22v is i replaced ;by a,.single-ia rm-72 towhich thelink1170is; connected. The bell. crank 7.1"i's'? connected 1across the, highway, 5, by link 7 3, 1'] to .agseconcl bellcrank-:ywhichainturn, is con-'- 1 pled to crank, armf l of. thecompanion gate post, by link-7 5.

A Eachgate. postv24 has its 'i ox ii iid 0a naledin.bea1ing;23;,and:its'upper endRjour-s na ledin a bearing-26ii7vhich isitself supported, by a- .bracket 28 from la [stationary p igh 3, he. lter bei g brac d." at 27.

:A idisk or plate 7 6 isfixed, onv each gate post: to rotate therewith,and is equipped With a.

fixedfst op 77.8Hd a. shear-oil stop 7-8.

"sleeve isjournaled on th "e gate post and. rests upon the said platefor rotative movement. This sleeve has agate member. 30 'progectlng'therefrom andth s member is braced by'ja strut ,29 leading to the top ofthe post. A coiled spring'f79 encircles the gate post with one endfixeditheretoja'n d its opposite end tothe gate member to constant I 1y,urgei the latter against the stop 77.

Should an" obstruction encounter the gate during closing thereof, thegate "may yield by; rotating about the post until engages thep'ost 'z 8.If further swingingof the gate 0'5 lover which operates. affollower isrequired to clear the obstruction, the gate member 30 will break orshear off the preferably wooden pin 78. A sign-or signal 31, may beplaced on the gate to be conspicuous.

The'gate preferably consists of a fixed inner section and a flexibleouter'end'portion. as being a thin strip of spring steel, or otheresilient material, 56 faced on one side as indicated in Fig.8, or onboth sides, as in Figs. 6, 7 and 9. The facings are secured in place bybolts 58 and 60. The back or inner facing consists ofra series of stripsor blocks 57, preferably-of wood, having their squared ends abutting andcapped with metal reinforcing?sheathing 641. The front 1" ace isalsopreferably covered with wooden facing blocks 55,. their endsbcing spacedapart as at 63 and inwardly beveled to'define vertical edges 80 overwhichithc spring strip 56 will bend.- The edges SO'are spaced apart aconsiderable distance to avoid atoo abrupt bending of thestrlpa Tofurther prevent connected to each approach block" by wires relays are ofthe standard interlocking relay thestrip from beingbent out of shape andfrom sagging under a lateral bending pressure, the several, definedbending points are individually reinforced by the addition of a shortspring strip 65, toward the'outer or tip end of. the gate, and byaddition of plural strips Y65 and 65" toward the pivot end of thegate,-:as shown in Fig. 8. The-free end of the gate terminates in a loop-or ring 62, secured thereon bybolts 61, whilethe' inner end of theyieldable section of the gate is secured to the rigid inner portion 53by bolts 54.

The,several-electrical connections, for effecting the automatic closingand opening of-the gates, are diagrammatically represcnted in Fig. 5wherein the track is com posed of rails 1 and 3 -thelatter havingsections electrically separated by insulations a and 6 thus dividing thesaid rail into a.

separate approach block for either'di'rcction of travel. -A signalbattery 2 i's electrically 2 and Q, resistance 2" and wire 2*. Adja-CGIltlIlSUliltlOl] Z),'o'r at thegradeicrossing, electrical connectionsaremade' by wires 4* type used by railroads of today. Their respectivecontacts 9 and 10 are connected by wire 13*and8 to a repeater magnet14*,

wire 15 connecting the latter to-a storage battery 11 which is itselfconnected to the fixed contacts of the relays by wire 12% Normally, inpractical operation, the time taken to completely close the highwaywith.

this machine is approximately twenty seconds, during which timea train:inight" enter at points a, reverse and leave the block inless thantwenty seconds, thereby-stop' p ng the motor. and leaving the gates onlyThe flexible outer end is here depicted r from rail 1 through wire 5 aCurrent normally flows through the relaymagnets from the signal batterywhichenergizes the relay magnets, causing them to lift partly open. FromFigs. 1 and 2 it can be seen that the gates cannot swing ba:-k to theirnormal position until the operating lobe of the cam takes the.positionshown in Fig. 2 Thereforefthere is placed in the circuit amaster switch 40 and' ll which prevents the mechanism stopping prema-vturely. This switch is mounted on lever 33 and when'thecam has moved afraction, switch lever 40-will drop from it, and make contact with 41,which makes a complete circuit to repeater magnet 14 from storagebattery 11*, through wires 12, 12, contacts 41 and 40 wires 35, 8,.and15. It will therefore be observed that this keeps the motor operatingregardless of the position of contacts 9? and 10, until the gates areacross the highway, then switchlever 38 will fallfrom the lobe 'of thecam and separate points 40 and 41, and if contacts 9 and 1O are held up.(as would bethe'case if the train had left theblock) the circuit-will bebroken to repeater magnet 14 allowing the motor to operate and releasethe gates, as. above set forth: I

Signal lights 17 may be placed so as to be seenon approaching theggatesand burn throughout the operation of the mechanism. Floodlights 32:;maybe placed ina position to flood the stop sign 31. Red lights 32* may beplaced near the center. of gate 30 so as to'be. seen when approachingtheigates ifv thegates are across the highway. The

2 anflto rail 3 thr'oughwireQ. At insulat on b connectlonj-ls made fromrail 3 to relay magnets Stand 7?, through wired, and

contact points SKand lO and hold them in such position, v f i Now shoulda train enter the block to the rlght signal battery 2 will besliort-circuited fromrelay 7 which allows contact points 10 to fall andtouch the fixed contacts or wires 12 which complete a circuit fromstorage bat-teryll to repeater-ina'gnet 14;

through wires 12, 13%}? and 15 whichen ergizes the repeater magnet '14.This lifts the magnet contact points 20 which makes contact with wire 19and completes a circuit to motor 3 from storage battery 11* battery-2 sconnected tora l 1 through wire 2, resistance unit 2 and Wire throughwires '18 and 40 contacts 1 wire -19?,-switch33, contacts- 34 and 35switch lever'36, wire 23 brushes 26 and '27, and

wire thereby starting armature 2490f the electric motor. As the motor 3is started, cam 8 will also turn, which applies pressure against roller'12, -moving it forwardly to rock the bar 'l lfand pull the resilientlink 14, 16, "17fto swing the gates to the position shown in Fig. 10,thereby closingthe highway. i

From Fig. 1 it'will -be noted that the con I tacts 34'and '35 arecarried respectively on the levers 33' and '36 which are pivotallymounted ina support 32 so that their free endsmay ride on-the curvedface 8 of one of'th'ellobes of'cam 8. Whenthe gates have moved to closedposition the lever 33 rides off the cam and effects a separation'of thecontacts34and35 and 'albreakin g of-the circuit to the motor which stopsthe motor with'the gates across the highway, where they are held, by thepressure of the cam against the lever 11, until the last coach passesinsulation 72. r

The contacts 9 and 10 are alternately en-v gageable by a pivoted arm asin the usual interlocking type of relay, whereby to per mit direction ofoperation, therefore when va train enters the blockthrough the rightinsulation a, the contacts lO are affected to obtain proper currentthrough the motor.

The contacts 9 remain inoperative because the pivoted arm, common to alltype'of in terlocking relays'used in railway equipment is so placed astoprevent contact. .It will be understood that the contact point 9 remains in such inoperative position until the last setof trucks pass theinsulation a at the left, of the signal, or completely out of the'blockf N ow, when a train enters from the 'l -opposite direction,theeifect 'nponthe con-,

' tacts 9 and 10 is identical,except.that contact 9 is operative whilethe contact 10 remains inoperative.

It will be understood that the points 34 and 35 are normally in contactwhen the gates are open to the highway, and should a train enter theblock from either direction, the cam 8 is started to rotating slowly.Thus,'lever 33 is first lifted'forthe purpose of placing points 37 and38 together, preparatory to completing an opening circuit after thetrain passes insulation 1). In Fig- .ure 1,"it will be seen that lever33 has dropped from the lobe of the cam 8, thus I separating points 3%and 35,which breaks circuit to the motor, such separation being causedby the lever 36 remaining on the lobe of the cam as shown, whichposition 1s maintained untilv the last set of trucks pass insulation b.In brief, when the train enters the first block, the motor closes thegate and stops, and after the last truck passes insulation I), the motoris again started to open the gate. "Contact is again established tothemotor by the'passag-o'f trucks,through contacts 37=and38,thereby-againrevolving the I cam, until-such *time asflthe lever '36falls from the lobe of the cam and takesIthe position" shown in Figure:The contacts 4'0 and .41 are. pivoted as previously mentioned,

on lever {33, and are adapted to function, inemergency cases, that'is,to prevent-the gate fromstop ingiin'incomplete stagesof operation, shoud a train enter and back out ef-the block beforetheestablishedoperatingtime forgtfhe mechanismrhas beenHde- When the .lastrset of trucks i-passf ins'u lation 6 energy is again-restored to relaym'agnet 7 by the flow of current from signal';battery2 which againlifts contact points 10, breaking the circnitto repeater The motor willopercuit tothe motor at oints 37 and 38, at the same time moving t epoint of the cam below the outside edge, of roller 12 whereby the rollerwill drop toward the axis of the cam to swing thegates open. To, assistthe opening movement a weight 81 is guided over a bracket 82 on upright13 and connected by a cable 83 to the brace 29.

It will be noted thatthe outer portion of the gates yield outwardly topermit the escape of anyone having been caught between them as they wereclosing! Should either of the gates bestruckyitfwill yield until it]engages thestop' pin 78 and if the impact is excessive the pin will'besheared off to avoid damaging the gate and to'permitit to yield througha reaterarc-against the tension of the spring 9. g

The switch 33, 36 is in parallel with'switch 40, 41 the former beingolosed in the nor mally' open position of the gates when it will benoted that the switch 40, 4.1,is opened. 1 What is claimed is: 1. Anautomatic railway gate comprising a movable body which is arranged to beswung laterally across a highway, a movable cam having a gradual liftandan abrupt drop, means operableover the cam lift 'for closing the gatebody, said means remaining on the lift portion to hold the body closed,a resilient connection between said last mentioned means and; said gate,and .gate' open-v ing means operable to move the camv to cause 1 saidfirst meansto ride off the liftportion onto the drop portion thereof. 7g

2. An automatic railway gate comprising a movable body which is.arranged to be swung laterally across a highway, amovable camhavingrgradual'lifts and abrupt drops means operable over one ofthe camlifting portions for closing-the gate body,tineans for retaining saidfirst mentioned means on the lifting portion for closing the gate body,

resiliently tensioned means for urging the gate body to openposition,and means for moving the cam lift portion, from under said first meansto permit the same tofall into one of the abrupt drops.

' 3. Anautomatic railway gate comprising a laterally movable gate body,gateoperating means including a movable cam having lift portions anddrop portions for respectively closing and releasing the gate body,

and meanscontrolledibyrthe cam for per mitting the gate closing means tooperate.

An automatic railway gate comprising alaterally movable gate body, gateoperating means including a movable cam having lift portions and dropportions for respectively closing and releasing the gate body, ,a motorfor moving the cam, and switch means under the control of the cam forstopping the motor. I v

5. An automatic railway a laterally movable gate body, means for causingsaid. gate body to open, a movable cam lift and dropportionsforrespectively closing andreleasing the gate body, a motor for moving saidcam, a switch for starting the motor to close the gate, a caimcontrolledswitch for starting the motor, a cam-controlled switch for insuringmaintenance of the motor circuit, said, cam switchesbeing adaptedtorbeopened by the cam when the gate is closed, and a secondswitjch forstart-- ing the motorflior permitting the gate to open when the circuitto :the first switch is.

opened. a

Intestimony whereof I affix my signature.

' JOHN R. BuRREss.

gate comprising

